USA visit of Turkish President: positions not changed – COMMENT

18th May 2017

Long-awaited meeting for region and Azerbaijan took place between the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the US President Donald Trump.
According to information, private meeting between presidents lasted 22 minutes. There are two presumptions for shortness of the meeting: either all the issues between the parties were solved in advance and private meeting between Trump and Erdoğan was simply to approve it, or the parties failed to reach agreement on the issues discussed and negotiations left unfinished.

However, tweeting kind words by Trump and Erdoğan about one another after the meeting, gives reason to be optimistic.
“It was a great honor to welcome the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to the White House today!”, the US president wrote.
Turkish president in turn said: “Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. President. I believe today’s meeting will strengthen our long-term strategic partnership and alliance”.

Joint statements made at a press conference after the meeting helps to make reasoning and conclusion on the negotiations between the parties.
D. Trump spoke about two issues concerning the United States and Turkey: Today we face a new enemy in the fight against terrorism, and again we seek to face this threat together. The Turkish people have faced horrible terrorist attacks in recent years and even recently. We offer our compassion to the victims, and we offer our support to the Turkish nation.
We support Turkey in the first fight against terror and terror groups like ISIS and the PKK, and ensure they have no safe quarter, the terror groups. Then US leader noted: “Military equipment was ordered by Turkey and the President, and we’ve made sure that it gets there quickly.
The talks and discussions will continue. This is a historic turning point. No one can break our relations with Turkey”.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan touched upon problems concerning Turkey: It is going to be very important for us to forge a close solidarity and cooperation in the field of fighting terrorism, primarily with Daesh and all the other terrorist organizations in the region. And we are committed to fighting all forms of terrorism, without any discrimination whatsoever, that impose a clear and a present threat upon our future.
There is no place for the terrorist organizations in the future of our region. Taking YPG and PYD in the region — taking them into consideration in the region, it will never be accepted, and it is going to be against a global agreement that we have reached. And we should never allow those groups to manipulate the religious structure and the ethnic structure of the region making terrorism as a pretext or an excuse.
Looking at some of the discussions between Erdoğan and his American counterpart, though, can we determine the approximate direction of discussions.
Thus, the main topics that presumably was discussed in the US can be listed as follows:

Cessation of giving support and weapons to PKK branches in Syria – YPG and PYD;
Syria’s territorial integrity;
Not granting second autonomy to Kurds in the region;
The conduct of joint struggle against powers, including PKK that trying to undermine the territorial integrity of Turkey;
– To work together in the fight against Islamic terrorism;
– Supporting Turkey in terms of arms, ammunition and military equipment;
– Handing over leader of Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) Fethullah Gulen and his supporters to Turkey;
– Development of bilateral economic relations and so on.
The US Administration believes that YPG and PYD are not the part of PKK terrorist organization and they will use them to liberate the Syrian city Raqqa from ISIS. That’s why they supply these terrorist groups with weapons, ammunition and other combat equipment.

Official Ankara says that the PKK terrorists and their branches like YPG and PYD will threaten Turkey with these weapons.
Americans gave following quarantines to Turkish officials, who traveled to US before Erdogan’s visit:
1.Weapons provided to YPG will be counted and recorded;
2.Number of weapons will match the character of the operation. They will be simply given in sufficient quantity. US servicemen will oversee their use;
3.If it is found that the issued weapons used elsewhere, all weapon transfers will be stopped;
4.All heavy weapons in hands of YPG will be taken back upon end of Raqqa (Syrian city declared by ISIS as their capital – Report) operation;
5.YPG members will not stay in city after liberation of Raqqa. Administration and security of the city will be consigned to Syrian Arabs.
But the events of last 40 years show that such promises are never fulfilled. For example, after year 1979 the US armed and instructed militants in opposition to the government in Afghanistan. But Afghanistan’s stability and security are still fired from those weapons.

Notably, some time before, spokesman of US-led anti-ISIS coalition, Colonel John Dorrian told that the part of weapons to be provided to another Syrian branch of terrorist PKK, the PYD in Syria and that they will not be taken back after fights against ISIS.
Let’s also note that, Turkey also raises the issue of straggling against PKK terrorist group and its branches, and halting arms flow to them also in meetings with Russian officials.
However, US and Russia approach those terrorists differently. Russia doesn’t recognize PKK as terrorist organization. Moscow lets know that they will talk and cooperate with elements of this terrorist organization. Although Russia doesn’t supply weapons and ammunition to them officially, arms produced in Russia are discovered and taken from surrendered or neutralized terrorists in Turkey. From this point of view, there is high likelihood that Russia provides weapons and ammunition to PKK and its elements. Russia simply hides this fact.

The US tries to demonstrate sincerity in terms of Turkey’s anti-terror struggle, by recognizing PKK as terrorist organization and saying that they use PYD and YPG in fights against ISIS.
Turkey asks the states, who follows their interests in the region, including the US, not to cooperate with branches of PKK. Because these organizations act towards violating Turkey’s territorial integrity, splitting the state, and never conceal their goals.
If the opposite side asserts the contrary, it means that they support split of Turkey in the long term.

In other words, US and European Union indirectly and directly want Turkey to make its choice between the side with democratic values and countries like Iran, Russia etc. The West puts pressure on Turkey in this issue through supporters of terrorist PKK’s ideas.
Turkey, saying that it is in democratic side and their ally, asks the Western bloc to clarify their attitude towards PKK and its branches and not to cooperate with this group.
Thus, strange and unjust landscape appears against the backdrop of requests of US and the European Union from Ankara. The West supports those, who want to split the territory of NATO member, which demonstrates unified position with them on many issues disputed in international organizations, and even uses them to put pressure on Turkey.
That’s why patches and holes in mutual relations became obvious. Because fulfilment of principles called “democratic values” can end up with violation of Turkey’s territorial integrity. That means that application of democratic principles is directed towards elimination of integrity of Turkey as a state. Then such a natural question comes up: who will agree with this game?